Application of solvent in preparing outersoles



Sept. 17, 1935. w FRENCH 2,014,472

APPLICATION OF SOLVENT IN PREPARING OUTERSOLES Filed Nov. 13, v193']. 2Sheets-Sheet l I. mi/ w a 28 a :1 I.

Sept. 17, 1935. Jjw. FRENCH I 2,014,472

APPLICATION OF SOLVENT-IN PREPARING OUTERSOLES Filed Nov. 13, 1951 2Sheets-Sheet 2 alum-minim //v VE/V Tm? Patented Sept. 17, 1935 UNITEDSTATES PATENT OFFICE APPLICATION OF SOLVENT IN PREPARING OUTERSOLESApplication November 13, 1931, Serial No. 574,829

7 Claims.

This invention relates to the application of solvent to surfaces havinga dried coating of cement, for the purpose of reviving the cement, as inthe preparation of outersoles for application to lasted shoes to whichthe soles are to be permanently attached by means of the cement.

In the manufacture of shoes in which the outersoles are to bepermanently attached by means of cement it is almost a universalpractice to apply the cement to the flesh side of the outersole, toallow it to dry, and then to revive it, just before the sole is to bepositioned upon the shoe, by applying a solvent which will soften orrevivify the cement coating to make it effective to stick the sole tothe shoe. There are many reasons for this procedure, one of the mostimportant of which is that it is possible to apply cement to soles muchfaster than anoperator can apply the .soles to shoes and apply pressureto hold them together temporarily while the cement is hardening. It is,therefore, good economy toallow an operator of a cementing machine tosecure full production and to position the cemented soles in a rackwhere they are allowed'to dry and become easy to handle. It isessential, furthermore, that all of that portion of the cement-coatedsurface of the sole which is to be activated shall be in the samecondition and equally softened when the sole is applied to the shoe inorder to secure uniform adhesion. In a-large proportion of the factoriesmaking this kind of shoes, the application of solvent is effected by anassistant who applies the solvent with a brush and then hands'the soleto the operator of the sole-attaching machine who immediately places thesole on the shoe and applies pressure thereto. This is not whollysatisfactory, however, not only because it requires another operator,but also because when the solvent is brushed on, all portions of thecemented surface are likely not to be in the same condition at the timethe sole is applied to the shoe, as some parts are apt to become driedout while other parts are still wet, and the brushing on of the solventalmost invariably removes or displaces a portion of the cement upon thesole. Furthermore, it is desirable to apply tothe sole a slight excessof solvent which will remain upon the surface of the cement and betransferred to the coating of dried cement upon the bottom of the shoeso as to soften this coating and to render it most effective in securingcomplete adhesion of the sole to the shoe. It will also be understoodthat the application of solvent must be carried out in such a fashionthat none of the solvent will get on the edges or tread surfaces of thesoles.

This soiling of the tread surfaces may result in staining the soles, andat any rate is a waste of solvent.

One important object of the invention is to provide an improved methodof applying solvent to 5 soles intended for permanent attachment bymeans of cement which will produce the desired uniform application ofsolvent rapidly and with a minimum of expense. Considered in oneimportant aspect the invention provides for flowing 10 a solventdirectly on a cemented surface in such a manner that the edge of thesole and the tread surface thereof are not coated with solvent, as, forexample, by bringing together the coating of dried cement and a streamof solvent, and allow- 15 ing the excess to drain from the sole withoutgetting any solvent on the tread surface thereof. One solvent which iscommonly employed is acetone which has a liquidity at least as great aswater. As herein illustrated, the sole is posi- 20 tioned with thecemented side down and the cemented portion is moved into engagementwith a stream of solvent, leaving the uncemented center ry.

It is usual shoe factory practice to apply ce- 25 ment to the fleshsurface of the sole along a marginal band extending from a point nearthe heel breast line forwardly around the forepart of the sole and backto the breast line on the other side. When a hand brush is used foractivating this 30 hand, the operation is slow and the treatment is notuniform. In another aspect, the invention overcomes this difiiculty andresides in a novel method which consists in flowing the solventprogressively on successive portions of the cemented 35 surface alongthe margin of the sole. As herein described and illustrated, thepreferred method comprises flowing the solvent progressively andsimultaneously upon the opposite margins of the sole from the heel endtoward the toe. 4

These and other aspects of the invention will best be understood from aconsideration of the following specification taken in connection withthe accompanying drawings, in which Fig. 1 is an angular view showingthe machine 5 applying solvent to a piece of work held in the hand of anoperator;

Fig. 2 in a detail view of the connection between the valve controllingthe supply of solvent and the presser member which holds the sole inposition 50 with respect to the nozzles;

Figure 3 is a front elevation, upon an enlarged scale, of the nozzles, asole, and the work-presser member;

Fig. 4 illustrates the arrangement of guiding 55 means by which thesolvent-applying nozzles are held spaced from the edges of the soles sothat the extreme uncemented margin of the sole will not receive acoating of solvent;

Fig. 5 is a detail enlarged vertical section through one of the nozzles;and

Fig. 6 shows a portion of a sole having a dried band of cement upon themargin of the forepart, spaced from the edge to provide a narrowuncemented margin.

The flowing of solvent directly upon the marginal portions of aninverted sole 62 is effected by means of nozzles 10 each of which has aslot I2 (Fig. 5) at its upper end and the nozzles are supplied withsolvent from a tank l4 connected by suitable piping [6 to the nozzles.The outflow of solvent from the tank I4 may be controlled by means of anordinary hand valve I8. Another valve 26 inserted in the pipe line isprovided with a valve stem 22 on which is mounted an operating handle24. This handle is connected by a rod 26 to a foot treadle 28 which isnormally held in raised position by a spring 30 and when the operatorpresents a sole to the machine he depresses the treadle to permit theflow of solvent from the receptacle [4 to the nozzles l0. Any surplussolvent which is not applied to the sole is caught in a receptacle suchas a pail 32 positioned, for example, upon a bench 34. A supportingframe 36 is also bolted to the bench and the pipes l6 are attached tothis frame by means of clips 38. The pipe line leading to the righthandnozzle, as shown in Figs. 1 and 3, is provided with a T 40, leading fromwhich is a vertical pipe 42 provided with a drainage cock 44 and alateral opening into a pipe 46 upon which the left-hand nozzle iscarried by a pipe arm 48 supported by a swivel joint 56. This swingingpipe arm 48 is yieldably held in the position shown in Fig. l by aspring 52 attached to upright arms 54 to bring the nozzles closetogether.

Each of the nozzles ID has attached to it by a suitable clamp 56 arounded edge gage 58. These gages may be positioned close to the nozzleswhen the machine is intended to apply the solvent all the Way out to theedge of the sole, or may be separated therefrom, as shown in Fig. 4, sothat the solvent will be applied along a marginal band of cement 66separated from the edge of the sole 62 by a narrow uncoated margin 64.This puts the solvent exactly where it is needed and helps to avoid thesqueezing out of cement, in the completed shoe, upon the edge of thesole or the upper.

Provision is made for holding the sole in contact with the nozzlesduring its passage over the nozzles by means of a presser roll 66loosely swivelled between collars 68 upon a pivoted arm 16 mounted inbearings 12 on the upright portion of the frame 36. The end of the rod16 is bent at an angle and provided with an end extension 14 (Fig. 2)passing through a slot 16 in the valve lever 24. The arrangement is suchthat when the operator depresses the treadle 28 he will substantiallysimultaneously open the valve 26 and move the presser roll 66 intocontact with the uppermost or tread surface of the sole.

In applying solvent to a sole, the latter is held in the hand of theoperator, as indicated in Fig. 1, and the rear portion of the sole,flesh side down, is positioned upon the nozzles between the gages 58 ata point in the neighborhood of the heel breast line. The operator thendepresses the treadle, causing the flow of solvent through the nozz es.and substantially at, the same time bringing the presser roll 66 intocontact with the tread surface of the sole. As the operator draws thesole to the left in Fig. 1, the nozzles, guided by the edge gages 58which are yieldingly held against the edges of the sole by the spring52, 5 will follow the contour of the sole and, in particular, of theband of cement 60 which has been applied to the flesh surface thereof.

During this operation the solvent will flow out of the slots l2 in theupper ends of the nozzles 1 I0 and will be applied directly to thecement band 60 without the interposition of any applying device whichmight disturb the cement coating. In this connection, it should be notedfrom Fig. 5 that the top of the nozzle is provided upon the incomingside, considering the direction of progress of the sole, with a higherportion or protuberance 80 against which the sole is pressed by thepresser roll 66. This avoids the complete stoppage by the work of theflow of solvent through the slots 12 and permits the solvent to flowfreely but gently out of the nozzles so that it is flowed on to thecemented area of the sole. The band of cement 60 is undisturbed bycontact with the protuberance 80 because it is then in a dry and hardcondition. After the solvent has been applied to the cement, there is nofurther contact between the cement and any portion of the machine andthere is therefore no tendency to wipe off portions of the cement orotherwise 30, to disturb the cement coating. By properly con trollingthe rate of flow of solvent by means of the hand valve I8, a gentle flowthrough the nozzles is provided so that there is no danger of gettingsolvent upon the edges or tread surface of the sole as it is drawn overthe nozzles. Said sole is held in such a position that the edges andtread surface will not be soiled, any excess of solvent falling awayfrom it and being caught in the receptacle 3'2.

Having described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secureby Letters Patent of the United States is:

l. The method of preparing an outersole for permanent attachment to alasted shoe by means of adhesive which includes the step of reviving thedried cement upon a sole by holding the sole inverted with the cementedsurface facing downwardly, and flowing the solvent upon the cementedsurface, allowing any excess solvent to fall away from the sole withoutcoating the tread surface thereof.

2. The method of preparing an outersole, on the marginal portion of theflesh surface of which is a coating of dried cement, for permanent at-55. tachment to a lasted shoe by means of said cement, which comprisesflowing an excess quantity of solvent having approximately the liquidityof water on the marginal cemented portion of the flesh surface of thesole, allowing the excess to drain in a direction such that the centerof the flesh surface and the tread surface of the sole are left dry.

3. The method of preparing an outersole, on the marginal portion of theflesh surface of which 55 is a coating of dried cement, for permanentattachment to a lasted shoe by means of said cement, which consists inholding the sole in inverted position with the cemented side down, andbringing the cemented portion into engagement 70 with a stream ofsolvent, permitting any excess solvent to fall away from the treadsurface of the sole.

4. The method of preparing an outersole, on the marginal portion of theflesh surface of which is a coating of dried cement, for permanentattachment to a lasted shoe by means of said cement, which consists inholding the sole to drain away from the uncemented mid-portion and inflowing solvent, having approximately the liquidity of water,progressively upon successive portions of the cemented surface along themargin of the sole.

5. The method of preparing an outersole, on the marginal portion of theflesh surface of which is a coating of dried cement, for permanentattachment to a lasted shoe by means of said cement, which comprisesflowing solvent progressively upon successive portions of the cementcoating and simultaneously upon the opposite margins of the sole.

6. The method of preparing an outersole, on the marginal portion of theflesh surface of which is a coating of dried cement, for permanentattachment to a lasted shoe by means of said cement, which consists inflowing solvent progressively upon adjacent portions of the coating fromthe heel end toward the toe, and simultaneously upon the oppositemargins of the sole.

7. The method of preparing an outersole, on the marginal portion of theflesh surface of which is a coating of dried cement, for permanentattachment to a lasted shoe by means of said cement, which consists inrelatively guiding a sole and a pair of streams of solvent to directthese streams simultaneously upon the opposite margins of the fleshsurface of the sole progressively along its margins without coating itscentral portion and without getting any of the solvent on the treadsurface of the sole.

JOHN W. FRENCH.

